a bleeding purple utah jazz blog

Mehmet Okur Officially Retires (Updated) (Updated Again)

“Right now, as a 33 year-old I’m putting an end to my basketball career that I started in 1993 when I was 14 years old. Despite starting late, I pursued my basketball career with determination and love. I had the honour of having countless individual and team success in my career. Silver medal that we won in 2001 European Championship was the first medal for Turkey in team-sports, and then I became the first Turkish player to become an allstar in the NBA and the first Turkish player to win an NBA title.

I represented my country at the highest level possible for many years, but after having back-to-back injuries in the recent years, despite all my effort to come back; I understood that I can not be the old Mehmet Okur again. While working out with my private trainer, I got offers many NBA teams and elite teams from Europe. However, Once your body doesn’t allow you to be as good as you were in the past and If you are used to playing at a certain level. I think it’s time to say goodbye to the sport that you love very much. That time has came for Mehmet Okur.

I have became who I am thanks to my family, my coaches, my team mates, and the Turkish people who always supported me. So, Big Thanks to everyone who supported me in this exciting 19-year journey.”

Best of luck to Memo in his future endeavors, whatever they may be. He’ll always be our Moneyman.

Update:
Memo updated his FB with a new profile pic and a new background pic after the announcement. So fitting.

Update again:Enes Kanter: He was a great player, and Turkey love him. He did so much for Utah Jazz, for Turkey, and when I was growing up I watched him a lot. I was a Utah Jazz fan just because of him. I watched every game Utah Jazz just because of him…I was kinda sad, because he was great player, I was still wanted to watch him. I learned a lot from him, so that’s why I was still kind of sad.

Paul Millsap: He meant a lot [to the organization]. The Moneyman, that’s his name, the Moneyman. I had a lot of great memories. It’s sad to see that he’s retiring right now, ’cause you want to see him succeed. You wanna see him do well…I’m sure our fans are going to miss him dearly. I’ll miss him. He was a good teammate. He was a great teammate…So it’s gonna be missed, man. He’s a great locker room guy. A great guy to have in your locker room.

Tyrone Corbin: Tremendous guy, man. You know, we wish him well. I really, really, really enjoyed the person, working with him on and off the floor. He’s a good guy. He listen. He understood who he was and the things he needed to improve on to have a chance to help us win games here, and he did those things every year. He can really shoot, spread the floor, and he understood that was a great asset for him, but he wanted to expand and play on the post-up, and to be able to defend and rebound. He was a tremendous asset for us here, and we wish him well. (KALL)

I would love it if he were offered some roll in the organization, whether as a pre-season coach, occasional guest in the half-time show, or something more extensive. Total class act, and one of the easiest players to root for on the Jazz during his entire tenure.